Toy Water Rocket Launcher

ABSTRACT

A toy rocket launcher to launch a liquid jet propelled rocket by means of air pressure developed from a pressurized liquid source. The invention utilizes a pressure tank, which is filled with liquid from a pressurized source such as a garden hose, thereby displacing the air in the tank and forcing it up into the rocket creating pressurized air in the rocket for propulsion purposes.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a toy rocket launcher that can launch a rocket using only a garden hose. Pressurized liquid is used to compress air into the rocket vessel for propulsion purposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Toy liquid jet propelled rockets and launchers have been around since the 60s. Most of these use a hand pump to pressurize air into a rocket vessel that is partially filled with water. Some of the launchers introduce compressed air from an external line. Others create propulsion pressure through chemical reactions or dry ice sublimation. Complex release mechanisms and valve configurations have been published. Simple launchers that don't require hand pumping or external compressed air are needed. Creating propulsion pressure from water pressure has not been addressed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention consists of a pressure tank (1) with a water inlet (2) and drain valve (6) at the base, and a launch tube (3) at the top. A variable height drain spout (8) is attached to the drain valve (6) using a pivot joint (7). This allows control over the amount of water drained from the tank (1). The size of the tank (1) is chosen based on the size of the rocket vessel (5). The launch tube (3) is a vertical pipe sticking out of the top of the tank(l), with an o-ring seal (4) at it's base, which seals to the nozzle at the base of the rocket vessel (5). The rocket vessel (5) can be any plastic bottle capable of withstanding pressure.

In operation, a garden hose is attached to the water inlet (2) and a rocket vessel (5) (such as a 1 or 2 liter soda bottle) is placed on the launch tube (3) and sealed with the friction fit gasket (4). The drain valve (6) is closed. The garden hose is turned on and water begins to flow into the pressure tank (1). Air in the tank begins to be displaced by the incoming water and is forced up through the launch tube (3) into the rocket vessel (5). The water level eventually reaches the launch tube (3) and begins to fill the rocket vessel (5). When the rocket vessel (5) is approximately half full of water, the compressed air in the top of the rocket (5) reaches high enough pressure to overcome the friction fit of the gasket (4). The rocket (5) is then jet propelled in a generally upward direction. The water source is then turned off and the drain valve (6) is opened to empty the water from the pressure tank (1) and prepare the launcher for another launch. A variable height spout (8) on the drain valve adjusts how much water remains in the tank after it is drained. This controls the amount of air in the tank (1 ) that is available to be forced into the rocket (5) and thus controls the air to water ratio that is in the rocket at launch time.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the rocket launcher 

1. A pressure tank that is used to launch a toy liquid/air rocket by displacing the air in the tank with pressurized liquid entering the tank through an inlet at the bottom of the tank and forcing the air and liquid to be compressed up into the rocket through a launch tube at the top of the tank.
 2. A drain valve at the bottom of the tank in claim 1, to empty the liquid and allow air to enter the tank for subsequent launches.
 3. A variable height spout on the drain valve of claim 2 to control the amount of water/air remaining in the tank after the water is drained. 